Abstract: A system for processing an organ such as a kidney so as to render it suitable for storage, shipment and eventual transplantation. After its removal from a donor, the organ is cradled in a net suspended within a basin. A preservative fluid initially at normal blood temperatures progressively cooled to avoid thermal shock, the fluid being pumped through the organ to flush out its natural fluids. The pumping action is such as to simulate that of the heart and its associated circulatory system. The exterior of the organ is chilled by simultaneously introducing the preservative fluid into the basin. After this chilling procedure is completed, the cradle carrying the cooled organ is transferred to a basin disposed in a thermally-insulated shipping box which is then filled with chilled preservative fluid and maintained at a desired low temperature level by an associated refrigeration unit.